Type 2 Remission

[Steve1984]

Good Morning All,

I just wanted to share my story to give everybody beginning on their journey some good news and hope.

I was diagnosed as Type 2 in November 2023 with an HBAC1 of 55 mmol.

This was the kick up the backside I needed to change my unhealthy lifestyle and my GP gave me three months to get the level down and said if I made positive changes to my diet and lost some weight I could stay off medication if the results were an improvement.

I am 6ft 1 and at the time of diagnosis weighed 22 stone which I am not proud of but I had fallen into bad habits drinking too much alcohol (three to four times a week) and having far too many takeaways.

I kicked these and adopted a lower carb diet trying to eat under 130g a day which I stuck too strictly but had the odd day off. I replaced the usual lager I drank with low carb options and cut down to drinking once a week at the very most.

I had Xmas over this period so there was the odd lapse but 95% of the time I was stringent with it. I upped my exercise to make sure I did a minimum of 8k steps a day which I never would have reached previously.

The weight started to drop off and last Wednesday I went for my follow up HBAC1 test weighing 18 stone 7 Ibs. Still a long way to go but I feel so much better.

Anyway I got the result back this morning and I am back in the normal range at 38mmol which is better than I could ever have hoped.

I just want to say to everyone if they make the right changes and listen to the advice it does work and you should never give up hope no matter how down or bad you can feel at times. Even relative small changes can make a massive difference.

I think I might have to celebrate the news tonight with a low carb beer 😛

 

[Eddy Edson]

Brilliant!

 

[Martin.A]

That's a great result - well done - and thanks for sharing. It's always good to hear about someone's successful journey towards remission so please keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Steve1984]

Brilliant!

Thanks Eddy

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thanks for sharing your inspiring story @Steve1984 - what a brilliant transformation you have made!

Congrats on your weight loss, and terrific HBA1c reduction.

Hope you are able to settle into a maintenance phase to retain the improvements you have seen.

For others just starting out who wonder whether remission might be something they could aim for themselves, we have others sharing their success stories and documenting their progress in the remission section here

Community - Chat with People about Remission

forum.diabetes.org.uk

 

[Steve1984]

That's a great result - well done - and thanks for sharing. It's always good to hear about someone's successful journey towards remission so please keep us posted on your progress.

Thanks Martin and to be honest it was reading similar stories on here that got me through and made me believe I could do it. A lot of the advice I put into action was learnt from members on here so it really is a valuable online community. I am aware it is a marathon and not a sprint.

Does anybody know if there is any truth in the theory that if you only have a one off HBAC1 test in the diabetic range and subsequently the next two are in the normal range and you're not on any meds you might not be classed as diabetic?

Somebody mentioned to me once that this might be the case so I am just curious.

 

[Steve1984]

Thanks for sharing your inspiring story @Steve1984 - what a brilliant transformation you have made!

Congrats on your weight loss, and terrific HBA1c reduction.

Hope you are able to settle into a maintenance phase to retain the improvements you have seen.

For others just starting out who wonder whether remission might be something they could aim for themselves, we have others sharing their success stories and documenting their progress in the remission section here

Community - Chat with People about Remission

forum.diabetes.org.uk

Thanks very much for your kind words. I am really pleased and again thanks to everyone on here for being so supportive.

 

[Steve1984]

Sorry one last thing i forgot to add for anyone that uses them I was paying for a Freestyle Libre 2 sensor which I wore for two months and as some of you will know, they give an estimated HBAC1 figure. I have read various things about them coming in high or low so I wasn't getting excited when it was showing a figure of 38mmol for the last two weeks but this figure was EXACTLY correct as that's what my blood test came back with.

 

[Martin.A]

Does anybody know if there is any truth in the theory that if you only have a one off HBAC1 test in the diabetic range and subsequently the next two are in the normal range and you're not on any meds you might not be classed as diabetic?

Somebody mentioned to me once that this might be the case so I am just curious.

Can't say I've heard that. I haven't taken any diabetes meds since May 2019 and have had six successive HbA1c results in normal range but I still consider myself to be diabetic, as does my GP practice and the NHS - I still get invited for an annual eye screening, for example. The clinical definition of remission is no signs or symptoms, but it doesn't mean cured.

 

[Leadinglights]

Can't say I've heard that. I haven't taken any diabetes meds since May 2019 and have had six successive HbA1c results in normal range but I still consider myself to be diabetic, as does my GP practice and the NHS - I still get invited for an annual eye screening, for example. The clinical definition of remission is no signs or symptoms, but it doesn't mean cured.

Likewise, it is always reassuring to get those 'annual' checks and actually if there is anything else that crops up it does seem to give a bit of priority to get seen.

 

[rebrascora]

Does anybody know if there is any truth in the theory that if you only have a one off HBAC1 test in the diabetic range and subsequently the next two are in the normal range and you're not on any meds you might not be classed as diabetic?

It very much depends on your doctor as to whether they formally diagnosed you with diabetes or not. You would have to ask them or look on your notes, if you have access to them? If you were not symptomatic and had a relatively low HbA1c, which is near the diagnostic threshold, then some doctors will require a second test above 47 to confirm the diagnosis. I believe that one HbA1c of 48 or above plus symptoms of diabetes is enough to give a diagnosis or possibly just a high HbA1c. Whether your doctor considers your excess weight at diagnosis a symptom or if you had other symptoms, although it would be unusual with an HbA1c of just 55, or whether your GP was confident enough to give the diagnosis from an HbA1c of 55 is down to them, but the fact that you have responded to a low carb diet suggests you were/are diabetic, so I don't think you could reasonably challenge that diagnosis, I think the NICE guidelines suggest that 2 tests should be done if no symptoms and some doubt about diagnosis. Having the diagnosis also means that you get regular checks, which is important, even though you are in remission at the moment and hopefully stay there.

I know you @Martin.A were in 3 figures at diagnosis like myself, so there was no doubt in that situation although I did have a second HbA1c 5 weeks after the first despite being very symptomatic, but that was probably more to check that treatment was working (which it wasn't 🙄 ) than confirm diagnosis.

 

[Steve1984]

It very much depends on your doctor as to whether they formally diagnosed you with diabetes or not. You would have to ask them or look on your notes, if you have access to them? If you were not symptomatic and had a relatively low HbA1c, which is near the diagnostic threshold, then some doctors will require a second test above 47 to confirm the diagnosis. I believe that one HbA1c of 48 or above plus symptoms of diabetes is enough to give a diagnosis or possibly just a high HbA1c. Whether your doctor considers your excess weight at diagnosis a symptom or if you had other symptoms, although it would be unusual with an HbA1c of just 55, or whether your GP was confident enough to give the diagnosis from an HbA1c of 55 is down to them, but the fact that you have responded to a low carb diet suggests you were/are diabetic, so I don't think you could reasonably challenge that diagnosis, I think the NICE guidelines suggest that 2 tests should be done if no symptoms and some doubt about diagnosis. Having the diagnosis also means that you get regular checks, which is important, even though you are in remission at the moment and hopefully stay there.

I know you @Martin.A were in 3 figures at diagnosis like myself, so there was no doubt in that situation although I did have a second HbA1c 5 weeks after the first despite being very symptomatic, but that was probably more to check that treatment was working (which it wasn't 🙄 ) than confirm diagnosis.

Ok thanks for the clarification, I was officially diagnosed as its on my doctors notes. I am happy with that anyway as like yourself and others have said having the annual checks is beneficial and helps to keep on top of things. I had my first eye screening on the same day as the blood test which came back as normal so that was also reassuring.